Chapter 2
All this is going to be mine.
Teslyn McGregor smiled softly as she walked through the small galley kitchen, her finger trailing along the simple white countertop. There wasn’t a lot of space for cooking, no less entertaining, but those features weren’t on her must-have list anyway.
When you were raised in a leaky, rundown trailer on the wrong side of a town brimming with poverty, you prioritized warmth, dryness, and safety over ample storage and stylish decor.
She’d waited years for this opportunity, scrimping and saving every dime and imagining a solid foundation.
For as long as she could remember, that was all she desired—a rock on which she could set her feet and stand, unwavering.
The new job and the fresh start she’d dreamed about here in Atlanta were the icing on the cake.
A slim doorway led to a blank rectangle of a room, white like the rest of the empty condominium.
Three double-hung windows overlooked a parking lot, their second-story sills high enough to be out of reach of passersby, and she sighed contentedly as she imagined a gentle summer breeze blowing through their frames.
She could even keep the windows open while she slept.
The single bedroom was just large enough for a queen-sized bed and a small dresser, but overall the space was more than adequate for her needs. It was in a good part of town, just over a bustling restaurant where she could eat brunch with friends like she used to with Vanessa.
In some ways, it would be hard starting a new life in a new town, but she was excited for the challenge. Besides, her friends had vowed to keep in touch. They’d even talked about a girls’ weekend in Atlanta once Teslyn had her own place, and now it was happening.
To most people, the condo may have looked small or ordinary.
But to her, it was nothing short of a miracle.
Yes, she could see herself here. It checked every box that mattered.
Her phone rang as she grinned and faced the Realtor.
“It’s perfect. I’ll take it.” She pulled out her phone, her face falling abruptly as she read the caller ID. Marilyn.
She swallowed the sour taste in her mouth.
It had been years since they’d spoken, and seeing her name was like being kicked in the belly. Would her mother always have this hold over her, no matter the distance Teslyn had worked so hard to put between them?
She silenced the call and forced herself to focus on the salesman, who was suggesting they write a formal offer. He was unusual-looking, with short-cropped red hair and large ears, along with a sharply chiseled face that still didn’t manage to make him attractive.
Her phone buzzed in her palm a second time. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually this popular,” she muttered. Her laughter faded when she saw Marilyn’s name for the second time, and knew her phone would continue to ring until the other woman got what she wanted. “Would you excuse me? I need to take this.”
He nodded, and stepped out of the kitchen while she connected the call. “What’s up?” she asked.
“That’s a fine way to greet your mother, after all this time.”
Teslyn closed her eyes and injected a saccharine tone into her voice. “Hello, Mother.”
“That’s better.”
An imagined bug crawled on Teslyn’s forearm, and she wiped at it absently.
“What do you need?” She thought of her unusually flush bank account, the downpayment and closing costs for this condo suddenly as ethereal as ashes in the air.
Marilyn never had enough money, and if she was contacting Teslyn now, that was bound to be the reason for it.
She thought of all the birthdays that had passed, all the holidays, resentment bubbling through her as she conjured every reason a decent mother would have contacted her only daughter. Then again, Teslyn hadn’t wanted to speak to Marilyn any more than Marilyn had wanted to speak to her.
It was a truth she’d long ago accepted. Some people got mothers who baked cookies and braided their daughters’ hair. Teslyn had gotten an addict who would do anything to support her addictions, no matter the cost to her child.
She heard Marilyn take a drag of a cigarette and exhale loudly. “I’m in trouble, honey.”
Honey. Teslyn rolled her eyes. She’s pulling out all the stops now.
She ran her finger along the countertop once more, the joy that had coursed through her the first time she’d done so now failing to appear. Her voice was flat as she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I pissed off the wrong person. He’s threatening to hurt me and take your sister.”
Teslyn’s brow came down hard. “Sister?”
“Ivy. She’s five. You might know she existed, if you ever visited me.”
Panic flared to life in Teslyn’s abdomen, an image of herself at five years old appeared in her mind.
The long hours spent alone. Watching TV late into the night, afraid of every bump and noise, hoping her mother would return before daybreak.
She rubbed her temple. “I can’t believe you had another—. ”
“Hey, I may not have been the best mom in the world, but I loved you.”
The Realtor reappeared, pointing to his watch and shrugging his shoulders, his meaning clear. Teslyn picked up her purse off the counter. There would be no offer written today, and fresh resentment packed on top of old, like one layer of snow over another.
Teslyn scooted by the Realtor as he held open the door, no longer caring what he heard. “Not the best mom? That’s the best you can do?”
“That’s neither here nor there. I need your help, goddamn it.”
“How much? Name the amount of money to set everything right with the world again, and get you your next fix.” The Realtor gave her an awkward wave before disappearing into the stairwell as fast as his feet would take him.
The familiar sound of Marilyn lighting another cigarette punctuated the brief silence. “It’s not like that this time. This is serious, Tessie.”
Don’t call me that.
She wanted to snap at her mother, wanted to push the other woman right out of her life, but the idea of a sister—a five-year-old little sister she’d never even met—gave her pause.
She said nothing, waiting for Marilyn to fill in the details of her latest crisis.
The elevator arrived and Teslyn stepped into it, thinking that she’d never step into it again.
She wasn’t going to live here any more than she was able to change her DNA, and she wondered if stability would forever remain just out of reach.
“I made a mistake,” Marilyn hedged.
Teslyn looked at the ceiling. “Just tell me.”
“There’s a man. He’s not from around here. He was a friend of mine growing up in New Orleans. We ran into each other, and, well—you get the picture.”
“You slept with him.”
“He’s Ivy’s father.”
“At least you have it narrowed down this time.”
“Damn it, Tessie, I don’t have time for your smart mouth.”
Teslyn crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped out of the elevator. Marilyn still had the power to make her feel contrite, and Teslyn hated herself for that. “Go on.”
“He has money, and I needed some. I didn’t ask for more than I deserved.”
Teslyn put her sunglasses on before stepping out into the muggy sunshine of a late summer day. “What are we talking about here, child support?”
“Mostly.”
“If you want me to help you, you have to be honest with me.”
“So maybe I asked for a little more. He could spare it, believe me.”
“How much more, Mom?”
“A few thousand here or there. A little more sometimes.”
Teslyn had no idea what was reasonable for child support, but the guilt she heard in her mother’s voice said something wasn’t right about this. “And?”
Her mother sighed. “And if he gave me the money, I wouldn’t tell the news station about Ivy.”
Of all the things she’d been expecting, she hadn’t expected that. “You blackmailed him?” None of Marilyn’s regular men had money enough to speak of. “Who is this guy?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is, he says he’s going to hurt me and take Ivy away, and I believe him.”
“If she’s his daughter, maybe that would be best.”
“Don’t you care about me at all? He said he’s going to hurt me, Teslyn. I’m afraid for our lives.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Come home. Help me get out of this place, set up somewhere new.”
Teslyn jerked her head back, true concern coloring her voice for the first time when she asked, “You’re leaving the bayou?”
“I don’t have much choice.”
“You really are scared.”
“What did you think, I was lying?” Exaggerating was more to the point, but Teslyn was no longer sure.
Marilyn’s life was one emergency after another, but if she was willing to leave her home, something was terribly wrong.
Marilyn loved that place, her trailer hidden among dense trees draped with Spanish moss, a thick, earthy smell permeating the humid air.
It gave Teslyn hives just thinking about it.
Her mother exhaled, clearly blowing out smoke. “Promise you’ll take care of Ivy if anything happens to me.”
Teslyn rolled her eyes. No one could be as dramatic as her mother. “You don’t really think this guy’s going to hurt you, do you?”
“Just promise me.”
“If you’re really that scared, you should call the police.” Marilyn was usually the reason the cops were called, not the one doing the calling, and the irony wasn’t lost on Teslyn. But it sounded like this time their help might be needed.
Marilyn scoffed. “He owns the police, babydoll. A lot more than that, too. Just make your mother happy and promise me you’ll take care of your sister, okay?”
True concern seeped into Teslyn’s bones. She was aware of the seriousness of the request as she agreed. “I promise.”
“Good girl. Drive safe.”
The line went dead in her hand, and Teslyn stared at her phone.
What the hell just happened here?
She’d spent her entire adult life trying to separate herself from Marilyn Gleason, but with a single phone call, all the progress she’d made had disappeared. If there was a sister in the picture, how would she ever get away from her mother again?
She threw the phone on the passenger seat and started the car, thinking of the big project she’d just been put in charge of at her new job. She’d have to call her boss and explain.
She sighed heavily.
It was four hundred miles to Marilyn’s home in Mississippi, and God only knew what Teslyn would find when she got there.